Holiday Giving
by legendarytobes
Summary: Conner Kent gets drafted into Chloe's plans to help get Clark and Lex closer for Christmas. Clark/Chloe/Lex fic and might be best to read "Family Traditions" and "Christmas Overloaded" first.


Maybe Conner was humoring his dad a bit. He could be from D.C. to Kent Farm in a blink, whether flying or walking. Hell, he could have traveled in with Grandma Martha in theory, but that would require getting there a couple days early as she prepared for a frontal assault on the kitchen. He really couldn't afford that with his clients' needs. Not like courts really rested. Still, he could have run straight there but he figured Lex could use all the support he needed. His dad just wasn't...he'd been very keyed up on Thanksgiving, even though nothing bad had happened. Clark really was simple to keep happy. Enough pie and football, and he wasn't upset about being in the heart of darkness as he'd snarked to Conner once before.

It was the one time Clark made the crack.

Conner'd refused to speak to him for a week until he apologized about it.

So even if Thanksgiving had seemed normal (well for assorted aliens, mutants, and mutts), Conner wasn't sure that the time Clark and Lex had spent trimming the tree had gone great. His dad hadn't talked about it much in the last three weeks, but he was still invited over for the big day, so that was at least a positive sign. Of course, Martha had basically threatened to disown Clark if he didn't have a complete Sullivan-Kent-Luthor gathering just last week. So it might be more blackmail that was keeping this family time idea together.

Conner wasn't sure.

His dad, such as it was and, yes, he knew coming from a petri dish was beyond weird, was great at being closed off. A great skill to inherit as a lawyer but a shitty one to work around if you wanted someone's true feelings on something. That's why Conner was riding shotgun in Lex's newest Porsche on the way toward Hickory Lane.

It had nothing to do with it being able to go 0 to 70 in five seconds or the heated leather seats.

Really.

"So, uh, do I need to ask what you got people?"

His dad arched an eyebrow at him but otherwise kept his face neutral. "Well thought out presents. That's all."

"That's why your trunk is crammed with crap? How many Best Buys did you buy out?"

"That would never do for Martha and Chloe, be real. Besides, Jonathan's seven. He's not ready for video games."

"Oh he's plenty old enough. When he visits I have some kid friendly sh...stuff we work through."

"He's smart and shouldn't be wasting his time with screens like that."

"Oh God, with you and Chloe he's going to pressured to Harvard or something by the time he's in fifth grade."

"I'm sure Sullivan started these plans in utero. I'm just saying, I'm not going to contribute to delinquent pastimes for him."

"I turned out fine."

His dad smirked. Huh, so that look was genetic. Conner could do one similar, drove the ladies nuts. "You're part Luthor. Jonathan's playing down."

"With super-smart alien genes?"

"Clark is remarkably obtuse in other ways."

Conner laughed as they pulled into the farm's driveway behind a minivan decked out with fake reindeer antlers. He hopped out of the car and at first started heading toward the trunk while adding, "No, really. There was this thing in the 'Tower and hey!" he said smiling and holding the story for another time as his little brother zoomed into his arms. "Hey squirt, did you hear me coming."

Huge green eyes blinked up at him as Jonathan frowned. "No? Was I supposed to?"

"Maybe not yet," Conner hedged. Well that was just speed and strength still so far. Good to know. Reaching down, he picked Jonathan up and spun him around until the kid squealed. "Not a bad flight, huh?"

"You could take me for a real one."

Conner smiled and set him down. "I can do that after pie. I am betting grandma made lots of it."

"Oh yeah! She made apple, pumpkin, and this like bitter one I am not into. Um, blackberry? Is that a berry?"

His dad nodded as he stepped back and shut the trunk. "It's excellent. My mother's nurse, Pamela, used to make the best preserves from them. It's my favorite."

Conner took the gifts from Lex and noted if he were a normal man that he'd be bowed over with their heft. "So you were reasonable, huh, Dad?"

"I didn't buy any rare jewelry or one of a kind first editions. No one got a new big screen. I think those fall within normal present rules."

Conner snickered and worked to balance the mammoth stack in his hands even as Jonathan took Lex's hand. "I still think you overdid. Senators do fine, lawyers and CEOs do fine. You know papers are in decline. I, uh, don't know if 'Watchtower' gets paid."

His father's expression soured as if he'd sucked a lime. "What would you even get someone who has no body? Also, I'm sure dear old sis could Amazon something up."

He sighed but didn't rise to the bait. Tess had practically raised him, given him home and security when he was first capable of remembering things. When Clark was always busy with evil afoot or, for a long time, Lois, Tess had been there for all his insecurities. Even if he liked Clark fine and was building something with his dad, Tess was the one person in the world-term used loosely but he wasn't really one to talk-whom Conner adored the most.

She was his first family.

He couldn't blame Tess for hating Lex for essentially condemning to life as the literal ghost in the machine nor could he blame his dad for hating Tess for stealing his life and memories for close to a decade. Still, it sucked being in the middle and you added in Clark just barely tolerating Lex at all and it wasn't the Burle and Ives or Norman Rockwell story he wished he had. Of course, it also wasn't just him forced to hang out with that dick Lionel so it was better by far than basically any Lex remembered (even if technically he'd never actually lived them). Cloning was beyond confusing and maybe that was why he gravitated harder to Lex than Clark as far as his, um, donors were concerned. Both of them were created and trying to figure out who they were separate from memories or genetics.

Clark, for all his drama with the Fortress, was at least a real boy, so to speak. He didn't have the drama of feeling like he was just repeating what others before him had done, to wonder if his likes and dislikes were really his own or because a 1.0 version had done it first.

"Dad, be nice. We're all going to be a real family this Christmas so that means we work hard on not  
>saying what we're thinking for about six hours. You can be politic right?"<p>

"Always, it's sis and Clark who can't keep their conversation polite."

"Oh sure," Conner rebuffed. "You are just overwhelmingly mature and hey!" he said, beaming genuinely for Chloe. "How are you?"

Chloe eyed the stack and then glared at Lex. "There was a rule list, Lex."

"I obeyed it. There's nothing precious, semi-precious or one-of-a-kind archeologically speaking there."

"Mommy! Ask him if there's an XBox," Jonathan prodded.

Chloe shook her head at the little guy. "Not until you're fourteen and not until you prove you can have one and not mess up your homework and grades."

"Mom!"

She grinned at Dad as she gave him as big a bear hug as her stomach would allow. "Besides those rot your brain and you're better than that. Lex agrees with me."

Conner chuckled as he made his way to the living room and sped the packages under the tree. Standing up, he brushed off his hands and gaped at everything. He'd been to Kent Farm for Christmas for about ten years or more. It never looked like this. The tree was covered in expensive blown glass ornaments, like characters from The Nutcracker or The Wizard of Oz peeking out from all over. The garlands were thick and real, not the few fake strands that were homey but plain from over the years and there was a literal florist's worth of poinsettias in every available granny.

Not to mention a nutcracker collection with some of the dolls almost as tall as his little brother.

"Chloe, something looks different," he said, turning to watch her waddle (that was the only word for it) as she leaned a bit on Lex. Jonathan was running back and forth between the tree and them like the damn road runner, and Conner needed to explain speeding to him. It had to be making Chloe dizzy, normal as she was. "I don't remember oh about 80% of these decorations."

She smirked and looked up at his dad. "I didn't either. I came home three weeks ago and it looked like Bloomingdales on Sixth in Metropolis's window decorator was over here."

His dad shook his head. "Not at all. I went in for Macy's from New York. You know it's the best or nothing, Sullivan. So where are Martha and Clark? Hell, where 's sis?"

Chloe sighed and gestured toward the barn. "He was finishing literally chopping firewood for the fire place. We're out, and Martha went out to get him. Everything's about ready to come out and, no, I didn't help. Clark did most of the junior work and I got to toss the salad."

"Thank god," Conner said, instantly blushing when she sent a death glare his way. "Oh, Chlo, don't take this the wrong way. It's just I felt pretty sick when you brought the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving and I'm invulnerable to botulism on both sides."

"I did feel a bit under the weather myself," Lex said, helping Chloe ease to the sofa. "I may yet avoid the salad."

"So I'm not domestic," she said. "Does anyone else here, Clark included, have a Pulitzer? No I don't think so."

Jonathan nodded at that. "But Mommy you can't eat a Pulitzer."

Conner laughed at that and rubbed his little brother's mop-top of black hair. It had changed from toe-headed about eighteen months ago, a huge clue besides the sudden strength onset that he was never a Queen. "No, but if you could, Chloe would screw up cooking that too."

"Uh-huh. Lex, why don't you and Jonathan go and see what's taking Martha and Clark so long."

Jonathan rolled his eyes at Chloe and put his hands on his hips. Conner held his hand to his face to hide his laughter. Chloe sort of deserved it. He didn't really envy either Clark nor her with a son that had Clark's stamina and Chloe's attitude. That was probably as much punishment as it was impossible miracle. "Mommy, if you wanted to talk to Conner by yourselves, you just had to ask. Lex and me aren't dumb."

His dad took Jonathan's hand. "Lex and I aren't dumb."

"That's what I said! Come on so we can eat! I'm so hungry!"

With that Jonathan was off with Lex, mostly dragging him out the back door.

Conner sat down next to Chloe and squeezed her shoulder. "You don't sleep much do you? He is a walking exclamation point."

"Definitely. I'm hoping Lily's quieter."

He grinned at that and hugged her. "So you know?"

"I wanted it a surprise but some Kryptonians blurt. Kara's back from the 31st century and the first thing she does is come over and congratulate me and 'Kal' on a baby girl. Anyway, I thought the name was nice."

"Clark didn't shit bricks at that?"

"Martha and I managed to convince him it was in his best interest to keep his mouth shut and get used to it. We're trying so hard to build a bridge for the three of you, the little one included," she finished, punctuating her statement by running her hands over her stomach. "Jonathan, Lily and you are siblings no matter how it happened in each of your cases."

"Well the others weren't a science experiment."

"You weren't brought on by magic-laced champagne or maybe too much post-Pulitzer celebrating," she said, giving his hand a pat. "And one day maybe with you three setting healthy examples, Tess and Clark and Lex can figure out how to get along."

"Clark and Tess do great. She's in his ear constantly and so far Clark and Lex haven't murdered each other so, really, compared to years past that's progress, right?"

"Maybe, but I think barely contained animosity from Clark isn't good enough and Tess and Lex are just Chernobyl waiting to happen all over again."

"Still think this celebration is a good idea?"

"They trimmed the tree together," Chloe replied. "I...Conner can you keep a secret?"

He snorted. "Like I do from everyone I meet that I'm Superboy and in the League?"

"From Clark and Martha, God and especially from Kara. She's over at Watchtower on duty so Clark could have off, just some Kryptonian has to be on-call. Still, she can't help with this. Supergirl's basically a disaster with finesse."

"God is that a House of El thing?"

"I think so? Zod seemed good at playing people both times he was around so I don't think it's solely Kryptonian," she laughed and pulled a small decoration from her pocket. Conner blinked when she realized it was mistletoe. "Can you and Jonathan help me with something."

"Chloe, don't take this the wrong way, and I do think you're cute, but I really do like Megan Morse and you're a lot older than I am and Clark and Lex would both murder me for different reasons and-"

She laughed and it was like the tinkling of bells. "No, Superboy, nice panicking skills though. I need you two to zoom in at the right moment for reluctant types."

Conner frowned trying to figure that out. "There's a big one already on the threshold. Besides, Clark's not opposed to kissing you and everyone else is basically related."

Chloe nodded but handed the bundle over to him. Despite the oddness of her request, Conner took it and held it in his right hand, rubbing the red berries between his thumb and forefinger. "You understand why you're not half-Kara's, don't you?"

He swallowed and ignored the way his chest was constricting. Talking about his origins sucked. It wasn't that he didn't think about it constantly even on happy days. It was more that if he talked about it too much, it really would consume him and be all he obsessed over. "Because Clark worked at the DP and it was easy for the first Lex to get a spit sample. It's all proximity, right?"

"You ever heard Lois joke about you."

He rolled his eyes and blinked back some heat vision in anger. "Half the Titans snicker about it behind my back. I'm not...it's not some love child thing."

"No, not completely. Clark and Lex were always complicated and I think Lex 1.0 was trying to oddly create family with Clark, someone in common. Our Lex isn't crazy like that but he's still in love with Clark all the same."

"And you're just cool with that?" he said, gesturing toward her wedding ring. "Chloe, you're six months pregnant with the second child you and Clark have. You can't seriously, what? Want to start swinging?"

"You're part Luthor. I thought you'd be more open-minded. It's going to be impossible to get Clark to understand this."

"Because Clark's not...and even if he were, he's already married!"

Chloe nodded and sat up as best she could in the cushions. It wasn't very far. "It's not that well-hidden on either end. Now? Yes, I think he still has a lot of anger at what the original Lex did but that much anger and hate only comes from something that was once scorned. You weren't around for everything but especially when we were all just kids, he and Lex had something. Frankly I think the three of us all did."

Conner sputtered and tried to think of any response for this. "I am not sure what you're going with."

"Oh you can put it together, Mr. Prosecutor. We work best together. Clark and Lex don't function worth a damn apart and I know Clark and I don't. We've all basically seen that upfront thanks to the first year of Watchtower. The worst they ever were to each other, the most violent, was with a woman between them."

"Ugh, Lana."

Chloe laughed and kissed his cheek and he was afraid he'd set the damn tree on fire. He really was so fucked up. Well, at least he could tell both Lex and Clark liked her. "You have better taste than eitehr of them. Megan's a good girl."

"And Lana's a crazy kryptonite-laced nightmare. I know when they knew her she hadn't gone around flaunting her strength and wasn't a basic cancer factory, but ick."

"Then maybe I'm just tired of things as they are. The three of us are going to be around for a long time and there's mutual attraction there and, frankly, a lot of power. We took Lionel down as kids. It was messy and almost got us killed but we did."

Conner whistled. "True and he was one sick bastard."

"Exactly, I'm just thinking we got a do-over. Clark and I figured our crap out, mostly. Lex is here and remembers and is a good ally for the League. Why not do things smarter this time."

"So an orgy is smarter."

"No, but helping Clark remember how he felt as a kid before the original Lex did horrible psychotic things isn't such a bad idea. Do you think you and Jonathan can be a sneak attack?"

"Sure but there's no guarantee Clark would do it even if it's 'tradition.'"

"Don't worry about that," Chloe replied, smirking. "That much, I've got covered."

"Do I want to know?"

"Just be grateful I plan for the League and not the Legion of Doom, Superboy, now help me out."

Conner wasn't sure where Chloe was going with any of this. They'd opened all the gifts and Lex had kept his word but had still bought out half of Saks for Chloe and Martha's business wardrobes and gotten Clark something autographed from the Sharks that even Clark had to admit was awesome. The less said about the educational toy store-microscopes, playsets, puzzles, the works-he'd gotten Jonathan the better. Conner found it adorable, however, that his little brother was most excited pouring over the illustrated The Iliad. Lex was teaching him bit by bit about strategy and war was part of that. Jonathan had been talking about "that big horse story" for months.

So there they were with Martha and Chloe quietly talking over cocoa, Clark and Lex staring at a rerun of A Christmas Story on TV in awkward silence, and him and Jonathan working on Rubix cubes together. It was too easy for Conner to finish them, but he was pretending they were hard until Jonathan figured out the tricks. Tess had been called in via Skype (Clark via Fortress tech had something that could project holograms portably but that seemed a bigger step). They'd made it through dinner by sheer force of Wathtowers present and past keeping up a lot of dialogue with Martha. Clark had mostly eaten and not said much, which, to be fair, was very much Clark in any conversation Chloe was a part of. His dad kept getting in barbs at Tess and, to be fair, Tess shooting nasty comments back at him until she'd clicked off before the pie course.

Yeah, reconciling the other Luthors was going to make Chloe's odd idea to hook her, Lex, and Clark up in the biblical sense seem easy. Those were two hurts and grudges that were going to take decades to untangle. Luckily, none of them but Grandma Martha were going anywhere soon.

Still, Conner wasn't sure how he was supposed to sneak in on Lex and Clark at all. He certainly wasn't sure he wanted to sponsor that with his grandma watching!

"Martha, you should head on up. It's getting late. Clark and I won't be far behind. The baby likes to kick at four a.m. and she's going to be a soccer champion, I know it," Chloe said, smiling back at the older woman.

Conner was with his dad. Chloe had only ever carried Clark's kids. She had no idea that the way Lily was kicking was way too strong. Conner'd had friends at work be pregnant and allow him to feel for kicks. It was nothing like Lily. He wondered if Clark had actually tried having children with normal people if kicks that strong would have just out and killed the mom or caused miscarriages. Chloe healed so fast now, after everything came back so much stronger with Jonathan, that she didn't even realize the damage her Kryptonian kids had to be doing. It made Conner feel crappy, like all his options were limited even among metas. Not that he didn't like Megan but he wanted to never make any girl he was with feel she was his choice because of something physical.

His grandmother smiled and stood up, giving everyone a kiss on the head. She settled last with Jonathan and whispered something in his ears. His little brother lit up like he actually had gotten an Xbox for Christmas and curled up next to Conner.

"Night Grandma! I liked even your new pie; it was good!

Conner laughed at that and hugged his brother. "You're a Kent. It's our perogative to like any pie. Those are the rules."

"Yup, but Grandma makes the best pies ever."

Martha winked at him before heading up the stairs. "You be a good boy and just do like we talked about."

"Okay!"

After she was gone, Chloe reached over toward the coffee table and grabbed the remote, flicking it to the Charlie Brown special. "We've seen the red rider stuff twice already, Clark."

"But the bloodhounds are next! I love that part."

Chloe shook her head and stood up. His dad had the sense to help her up while Clark was still transfixed on the dogs onscreen eating through the turkey as if it were the first time he'd seen it. "Clark, can you help me take my pie plate to the sink?"

"Oh Chlo and, wait, sure," he said, finally getting a clue and walking with her toward the hallway to the kitchen.

Jonathan hopped in his lap then and whispered for Conner to go. He was confused because he thought this plan was about Clark and Lex, but obliged anyway. Clearly, his seven year old brother knew more about the plans than he did.

Ouch.

They blurred into place in front of both of them, Jonathan riding Conner's shoulders and lifting the mistle toe high enough to be over even Clark's head. And, yes, Conner resented that this weird Luthor-El mix meant he was shorter than even Lex, but they managed.

Clark laughed and leaned down to kiss Chloe. "Really? You only needed to ask, Chlo."

"That's not completely what I was betting," she said, kissing him back and were her lips redder than usual? Wasn't her gloss usually pink?

Clark pulled back and Conner caught it, exactly what he was looking for, that flash of red in his eyes, dark crimson spilling over the corneas. It wasn't heat vision's amber. Nope, whatever lipstick Chloe had put on after dinner had Red Kryptonite in it. She'd dosed him.

"Chlo," Clark purred and Conner really hoped even this high that he'd keep it PG. Conner had no interest in explaining "adult things" to Jonathan ever. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and stood closer than was polite in public. "Maybe Lex can watch Jonathan tonight. There's a bed and breakfast in Hong Kong that's amazing-"

Chloe shook her head and trailed a finger up his cheek. "Actually, I had another idea. Stay there and close your eyes."

"But we'll f-"

She held her finger to his lip and, God, he was gonna have to lie hard to his little brother to explain this shit away. "We'll talk, but it's a surprise then we'll figure things out for the night."

"Oh we better," Clark begged and his voice had basically dropped a whole octave.

Chloe waddled slowly over to Lex and grabbed his hand. "Go with it," she hissed, not that it made muc difference to Clark's hearing.

His dad frowned but then came to stand where she had been under the mistle toe. Beside him, Chloe had a hand over his shoulder and was smiling in a way that made even Conner's eyes burn. "Clark?"

He opened his eyes and quirked an eyebrow at both Chloe and Lex. "I think I'm confused. I'm not uninterested just where are we going with this."

Chloe leaned up and kissed Clark again and now his eyes were completely blissed out. "Inhibitions, right? Let's just take some anger and stupid resentments out of everything. I mean, you know what happens when someone's under the mistle toe?" With that she took a step back and shoved Lex into Clark's arms."

Jonathan giggled. "Mommy's right! You have to kiss Uncle Lex."

Conner waited, his face impassive, seeing where Clark would go with this. His father, for his part, looked like he'd rather be back at Christmas time with Lionel. Conner hoped Chloe's plan would work. If it blew up in all their faces, he was scared that Lex would never leave his office again.

Clark surprised all of them by grabbing Lex by his shirt collar and pulling him in for a kiss that grew sultry enough that Conner had to reach up and cover Jonathan's eyes. When he pulled back, Clark licked his lips. "I've been waiting for that for a long time." One arm over Lex, Clark reached down and squeezed Chloe's hand. "I'm up for any fun you want."

"We'll get there," Chloe said. "Conner, will you take Jonathan upstairs. You two can have a sleepover in our room. Martha's got Jonathan's anyway."

"Okay, wow...Uh, Chlo?"

Lex eyed Conner. "We'll be at the mansion but back for breakfast. You and Martha can watch Jonathan for one night can't you."

"I...wow...sure," Conner sputtered, not sure where this was going to lead when Clark had more faculties but he had to hand it to Chloe for her creativity. That was one way to get Clark to drop years of baggage and just feel what he actually did.

Chloe smiled back at him as Clark lifted her up even then in a bridal carry. "Besides, you'll want to tell your grandmother how her plan worked out in the morning."

With that Chloe and Clark were gone and Lex was rushing out to his car.

Huh, maybe Martha really was a better mastermind than any Luthor had ever been; too bad that missed Clark. Also, Conner realized heading upstairs with a far too chatty Jonathan, he needed to never piss his grandmother off. She played dirty.


End file.
